A study of prostate cancer and its association with dyslipidemia, elevated insulin levels in blood, and relative insulin resistance prevalent in South East Asia

Background and Objectives: Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death among men worldwide. In India, it is the second most common cancer in males as per the Indian Council of Medical Research and various state cancer registries. This study was designed to investigate the effect of dyslipidemia, elevated insulin levels, and insulin resistance on the risk of prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: This case–control study was conducted on a total of 200 individuals. Cases were 100 males under the age of 80 (range, 50–80 years), newly diagnosed with histologically confirmed primary adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Controls were 100 age-matched disease-free males, without any complications. Mean ± standard deviation in case and control groups was compared using the unpaired Student's t-test. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to determine the association between variables of interest and prostate-specific antigen (PSA), Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), and body mass index (BMI) among prostate cancer patients. Unadjusted and adjusted odd ratios with 95% CI were calculated using logistic regression models for prostate cancer risk in relation to dyslipidemia and IR. Results: Data showed that serum PSA significantly positively associated with BMI, total cholesterol, triglycerides (TGs), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), insulin, HOMA-IR and significantly negatively associated with high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). HOMA-IR significantly positively associated with BMI, TGs, glucose, and insulin. The binary logistic regression analysis showed a significant adjusted* Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (P < 0.001) between total cholesterol (5.27 [1.87–14.8]), HDL-C (1.73 [1.02–3.42]), TGs (1.24 [1.05–1.37]), HOMA-IR (2.68 [1.53–4.62]), and prostate cancer. Conclusion: This study confirms the association between dyslipidemia, IR, and increased prostate cancer risk.